Sean Fitz-Gerald’s Before the Lights Go Out looks at how rising costs make hockey inaccessible for children

Like many Canadians, Sean Fitz-Gerald spent most of his life thinking of youth hockey the way it’s depicted in the iconic children’s book The Hockey Sweater — kids playing freely on a frozen pond, with few adults in sight.

But those carefree scenes are becoming less frequent, he says, as minor league hockey becomes increasingly expensive, specialized and serious, making it inaccessible to many families in Canada.